This invention relates to a method of providing emergency-related information to and from a centralized location over a wireless network.
Recently, catastrophic hurricanes have become a normal summer event. Hurricanes often force mandatory or voluntary evacuations over large areas of land. These evacuation areas are typically divided into evacuation zones. For example, evacuation zones may be identified as zones A through E; with zone A identified as being an area at the highest risk for flooding or high winds, and zone E being an area least likely to be affected by an impending hurricane. As the weather becomes more severe, officials typically order certain zones to evacuate successively. These evacuation orders are commonly issued over the local radio and television stations, escalating from A to E when necessary. Often, people are unaware of the evacuation zone classification for their current location. While online mapping tools are available to determine the evacuation zone based on location, these tools are not always easy to use and may be unavailable in the event of an oncoming hurricane. Emergency phone numbers are made available for those individuals who do not have Internet access to use these online tools, but often the emergency phone lines are overloaded by the sheer number of people requesting evacuation zone information. Additionally, tourists who are unfamiliar with the area may not be aware of any of these resources, or may not know their current address even if they are able to access online mapping tools or emergency phone numbers.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved system and method to identify a threat based on the physical location of an individual; as well provide instructions to secure the individual's safety.